Odds display preferences

Don’t Look Back in Angers at Lyon on Sunday

2017-09-28

Ligue 1 is back after an eventful week of European football for French clubs, and it’s back to the bread and butter of qualifying for next season’s competitions. Lyon finished fourth last season and made their way into the Europa League, but this year’s target is surely a return to the big time of the Champions League.

It’s not been a perfect start by any stretch as Lyon are back in 7th place just off the chasing pack. That makes this Sunday’s match at Angers all the more important, and they could be a decent bet to take all three points. Angers have been the draw specialists this term with five stalemates in seven matches, but they are yet to win at home and lost their last home outing to bottom club Metz.

The pick of the weekend’s games is another on Sunday night when Nice line up against Marseille. Both were in action in the Europa League in midweek, after finishing 4th and 5th last season, and both will hope to challenge for European spots again this year. Marseille are currently 5th in the table, while Nice are back in 9th. These two shared eight goals in two matches last term, and another entertaining game should be on the way.

Another side worth keeping an eye on is Nantes, who are on the periphery of European qualification. They missed out by one place last season finishing 7th, and currently line up in 6th position in the early Ligue 1 table. Four wins in five should see them in confident mood ahead of the visit of bottom club Metz, who have lost six of seven games so far.

Angers v Lyon

Lyon are a tempting enough price at 33/252.32+1321.321.32-0.76 with Marathonbet to come away with three points from their trip to Angers.

Angers have only lost once this season, but their away form has been much better than their performance at home. Draws away at Nice, St Etienne and Marseille plus that win at Amiens gives Angers an impressive away record. Back on home soil it’s been more difficult, where they’ve been held by Lille and Bordeaux and lost 1-0 to Metz. Lyon have won here on both visits since Angers return to the top flight.

Points have been dropped by Lyon this season which has had the effect of leaving them trailing in 7th. They’ve been pegged back twice to 3-3 in recent weeks by Dijon and Bordeaux – both times on home ground. Draws with Apollon and Atalanta in the Europa League and an away defeat to PSG make Lyon’s recent record look slightly worse than it is. However, they’ve already beaten Rennes on the road this season, and can take a step forward in Ligue 1 with another away win here.

Nice v Marseille

Both teams to score is the bet when Marseille visit Nice at 7/101.70-1430.70-1.430.70 with Marathonbet.

This fixture usually produces goals, with both teams on the scoresheet in four of the last five meetings. After getting over the disappointment of losing to Napoli in a Champions League play off, Nice have found the scoring touch again in recent weeks. They’ve banged in fifteen goals in the last five games, winning four and drawing one in the process.

Marseille haven’t failed to score in a Ligue 1 game this season, and have already picked up wins at Nantes and Amiens on their travels. They’ve also been on the receiving end of 6-1 and 3-1 defeats to Monaco and Rennes, so are quite capable of conceding goals to a Nice side in good form.

Nantes v Metz

Finally Nantes are a solid bet at 67/1001.67-1490.67-1.490.67 with Bet365 and Ladbrokes to beat Metz in front of their own fans on Saturday afternoon.

Nantes have won four of the last five games and have only conceded one goal in the process. Three wins were aganst teams in the bottom half, but they’ve also managed a 0-0 draw with Lyon and a 1-0 win over high-flying Caen. sixth in Ligue 1 and looking to go one better than last year by qualifying for Europe, Nantes can take care of the divisions bottom club.

Metz have been beaten in 6 out of 7 games this term, and any hope brought about by the 1-0 win at Angers was quickly stamped out by the subsequent loss to Troyes. They’ve only scored three goals this season and that presents a huge problem against a Nantes team which has the second-best defensive record in the league. In Metz’ favour is their very good record on this ground – drawn six of the last eight with one win each – but that is superseded by recent form which points strongly to a Nantes win.

Share this article:

About The Author

Eric has been sports journalist for over 20 years and has traveled the world covering the top sporting events for a number of publications. He also has a passion for betting, and uses his in-depth knowledge of the sports world to pinpoint outstanding odds and value betting opportunities.